Rumors
by VioletSorceress
Summary: AU. Tokka Week 2. Tokka. "In high school nowadays, being with someone is a huge deal. And when rumors come into the picture, all is hopeless."


**Disclaimer: I do not own**_** Avatar: The Last Airbender. **_**All characters and events are a trademark of their creators and Nickelodeon**_**.**_

**Tokka Week 2 Day Seven - Prompt Seven: Together**

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In high school nowadays, being _with_ someone is a huge deal. There are anniversaries, dates, holidays, and who-knows-what-else. The man is expected to find the perfect gift for his girl when it comes down to anniversaries. The woman is required to dress and look her best no matter what the occasion. The couple is to put up with rumors and dates as well as the normal pressures of every day life.

Yes, romance is quite a difficult thing to deal with in high school. And when rumors come into the picture, all is hopeless.

For example, three friends—Katara, Aang, and Zuko—never let romance get in the way of their friendship. Unfortunately for them, they were caught in the midst of rumors.

See, Katara and Aang started dating, and Zuko just became a third wheel. He was complaining about said third-wheeling when Ty Lee, the resident gossip, decided that it was because he was secretly in love with Katara. A full-fledged war resulted in the revelation that Zuko did have a crush on Katara—and vice versa—but Katara was dating Aang because of his status.

Thus was the end of their friendship.

Rumors are a terrible thing indeed. What? Don't believe it? Well, here's another story:

There were two people—and said people were named Toph and Sokka—who loved each other more than anything else in the world, but they were only friends. And they only loved each other as friends _only_. So it is safe to say that they were best friends. Inseparable friends. Or so they thought.

Toph did in fact have an increasingly large _crush_ on her friend, but found it impossible and unrequited. She loved him more than anything else in the world—as has been described—and wanted him to be happy. Which he was—with someone else.

Said girl was named Suki.

Sokka and Suki loved each other more than anything else in the world. Or so they thought. For Sokka—as previously mentioned—also loved Toph more than anything else in the world.

So the boy, in a sense, loved two people more than anything else in the world. And since that makes no sense, it is safe to say that he loved one of them—Toph or Suki—more than the other.

This inner conflict was a small problem. He and Suki were happy together, and his friendship with Toph remained intact. Life was good for him.

Until a rumor about his and Toph's relationship threatening his and Suki's relationship came up. The rumor itself was a nasty one that undoubtedly led to the destruction of his happiness.

It would be rude to lie about said rumor and make it cleaner that it really was, but, in summary, it was bad.

—(Fine. Sokka and Toph supposedly did _it_—it being that thing you do that you're not supposed to do without permission—and someone made sure to put up pictures of the act. As minds of today's society are quite dirty, the crime in which they committed is entirely up for interpretation.)—

Sokka and Toph knew of their innocence. Suki did not. And she wanted her relationship with Sokka to work out. They tried to talk about it—key word being _tried_, as they obviously did not succeed—but more and more "proof" of the allegedly committed crime kept on coming.

When it came to the question of who Sokka loved more, there was a blank. He was not sure—as has previously been noted—and he did not like thinking about it. Still, he tried to choose.

Who did he love more than anything else in the world? He liked Suki and he liked Toph. But one of them _had_ to have been more special in his heart.

Eventually, a decision was made. And he said goodbye to one of the two girls he supposedly loved more than anything else in the world.

But it wasn't easy. Oh no, it wasn't.

See, Sokka and Toph had a long heart-to-heart, in which she finally admitted that she did love him more than anything else in the world. And this sudden confession sparked up a flame in Sokka, and they. . . Well, _duh_, naturally they kissed.

And Sokka talked with Suki and found more and more things he had in common with her, that he admired about her. She was in love with him, undoubtedly.

The next day, though, there was a rumor circulating. Apparently Sokka and_ Toph_ were going around, holding hands, and telling people that they were _together_.

That, as well, is open for interpretation, as young minds are fresh to thinking and are very knowledgeable.

Remember, still, that with rumors in the picture, all is hopeless. Remember the story of Aang, Katara, and Zuko.

But remember also that not all rumors are lies.

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End file.
